Aftermath: To find a purpose....
by Christopher Good
Summary: This story is of the group that faced Blood Angel in FFT. It takes place after the events of the game so play it first. It is a diary of Ramza's search for himself, the people he meets on the way and how he affects. Also of a romance that I felt was bound
1. The find

Authors Note: First, I don't own any of the characters, items or events mentioned from the game Final Fantasy Tactics. They are the sole property of Square/Electronic Arts and they are used without permission. The characters of Dr. Simon Cortez, Horatio Marcus, and any other character that does not appear in the game are my property and can be used by others with permission… but I am not sure why you would want to.

Second, the first part and the very end of the story takes place 2003 years after the events of the game in the same world. Don't get confused as I will try to explain in the story what is going. 

Third, enjoy and review often.

**The Aftermath: To find a purpose…**

**Chapter 1: The find**

            An older man in a tweed blazer was sitting at an old oak desk looking over some paper work when the door to small office was thrown open. This action startled the man he dropped his glasses which caught the sun from the rather large window on the Westside of the office. He picked them up and put them back on to address the man at his door. This man was far younger; he was about 6'2" with jet black hair and was actually very well built compared to the status quo of where he was.

            "A simple knock would have sufficed Jonathon." The old man said cleaning off his green steel, bifocal glasses. 

            "Oh, sorry Dr. Cortez, I didn't mean to barge in like that." Jonathon stated catching his breath.

            "Yes you did or you wouldn't have done it. What the rush?" Dr. Cortez asked the man.

            "Doctor… we found something. I am not sure what it is, I can't read the language but I believe it's the same language as that scripture we found two years ago." The man said with a toothy smile on his rather wide face. The doctor for his part simply raised and laughed to himself.

            "You mean the Durai papers?" He asked.

            "Yes Professor." The man responded.

"That would put your discovery from the time of Ivalice… but I didn't think you were in that part of the world." Dr. Cortez stated.

"I wasn't sir… and that's why I brought this to you. I actually found this in the northern part Geldalan." The man said handing a large stack of papers to the Doctor. The papers were actually what appeared to be a very old scripture of some sort. Some of the corners looked rotted and the papers were a very dark shade of yellow brown. The doctor took them and gave a glance of skepticism to his student.

"I think you're overreacting. For these to be from two millennia ago they would have had to come from Sichella… or what was once called Ivalice. There were no populations on the continent Geldalan at that time… you have been my student long enough to know that." The doctor said looking over the old scripture. It certainly looked old enough to be from that long ago but it was absurd to think that it was.

_            "I know sir. But it is the same language and it very old, it looks older then twleve-hundred years. I also know what you taught me bout Ivalice, not to mention the fact that this university was built on the very location of what was once Igors castle, but I just feel that there is something to this. I would hope that I have been your student long enough to recognize something worthwhile." Jonathon said finally breathing normally. Doctor Cortez simply laughed. He knew that Jonathon was overzealous but not usually wrong about things. He was the student leader of the dig that found the Durai papers in the first place. However, this time he was going to be wrong. Doctor Cortez knew that nothing from that time could have been in Geldalan. He examined what his student had given him and became flabbergasted at what he was reading._

            "Oh my god…" Was all he could muster. This was Jonathon first dig as dig leader. Doctor Cortez felt that he had enough knowledge and experience to handle this before he even graduated but this… this was more then he could have ever hoped for.

            "What is it Professor?" Jonathon asked trying to serve his curiosity about what _his team had found. It felt good saying that the team was __his._

            "I… I… I can't believe it… this is not only from the time of the Ivalice… it is part of it." Doctor Cortez said looking on at his student.

            "What?!" Was all Jonathon could think of saying. For Doctor Cortez to say that it must be true. But how could that be possible he thought, he wanted to believe it to be true but logic told him that it wasn't possible. Doctor Cortez had been reading more and look up at Jonathon.

           "I thought it was just insane ranting of a man that was going to be burned at the stake…" The Doctor said cryptically.

            "Professor?"

            "In the last part of the Durai papers, Olan Durai reported that he could have sworn he saw his true hero of the war ride past on one of those Chocobo things. Up until this point, I thought it was as I said, insane ranting. But, what we have here proves what Olan Durai saw." The Doctor stated to his dumbfounded student.

            "But that would mean…"

            "Yes, that would mean that Ramza Beoulve was not only still alive after they broke the seal and were sucked into Murond Death City… but they somehow found a way out." Doctor Cortez retorted.

            "But from everything you have said to me Doctor the idea of surviving that would be like going to hell and back."

            "Well… according to this… they did just that." The doctor responded.

            "What is that Professor?" Jonathon asked

            "This… this is a diary… no, the diary of Ramion Ruglia." The doctor said quietly.

            "Who?"

            "Ramion Ruglia… the chosen name of Ramza Beoulve. According to the Durai Papers he took a name similar to this after the events at Fort Zeakden. He reclaimed his Beoulve name for later battles. It appears however he changed his name permanently to this after… he and his group left Ivalice." Dr. Cortex stated reading further.

            "Professor… this is just one… of six. There are five more books like this." Jonathon returned.

            "I believe that this is the beginning. It seems that it has information about how and when they Murond. It looks like Ramza's own hand wrote this… it inscribes his thoughts. However, it seems to be of a language that I am having trouble translating. It is like ancient Ilacian but with some major difference… almost as if written in a different dialect. I am going to need some help on this." The Doctor said thinking about what to. Jonathon and then remembered something that the professor had said to him almost a year ago.

            "Professor didn't you say that you once worked with a man to translate the Durai Papers?" Jonathon asked. Cortez thought about the questioned and then scowled at the realization of who he was talking about. 

            "You are quite correct. His name was Doctor… Mr. Horatio Marcus. He lost his credentials when he reported that there was more to the Durai Papers then what I had reported… apparently he was right. I want you to find him and bring him here. He you and I will go over what we have and we will find out just Ramza himself had to say." With that he bid Jonathon out of the office and the student did so. He sat back down in his brown leather office chair and pondered the scripture he had. 

            "If this was one of six… then perhaps all six of them survived." He thought to himself.

            A few days passed and the more Cortez tried to understand the scripture the less it made sense. He could interpret bits and pieces of the scripture. He was about to throw it in the trash when a knock at his door ripped him from massaging his temples.

            "What!" He said gruffly.

            "Is that anyway for a professor to answer his door?" The voice from behind the door said condescendingly. 

            "So you've finally arrived." Cortez said standing. A man dressed in virtual rags stepped through the door. Now, this man didn't look like someone who should be in this attire. He seemed to hold himself high and look to be a scholar. He was tall, about 6'1" and had a grey mustache to match his almost smoke color eyes and hair. He was built but not as much as Jonathon who was standing behind him. He had a smile of almost victory on his face as the men stared at each other.

            "Look at you; you look like you have been living on the streets." Cortez stated.

            "I have… no thanks to you. Ever I was discredited I have not been able to get a decent job anywhere. So I was force out of my house and on to the streets." The man said walking in.

            "Well Horatio… I may have something here that could win all three a Alistair Prize." Cortez stated recognizing Jonathon. Horatio Marcus just looked at him skeptically.

            "Why am I here?" He asked

            "Because… you were right. I have proof here that in fact the last part of the Durai papers is very true. The problem is it is written in a dialected language that I can't fully translate." Cortez retorted

            "I knew it! I knew it had to be, Ramza being pulled into Murond and the churching winning like that… I knew that couldn't be true." Horatio said jumping up at him. Both men looked over the scriptures. All six of them were laid out on the desk before them. Jonathon for his part was simply staring out the window at the cheerleading team while the two men toiled to put the books in order.

            "Well Simon… it appears that it is time that I get my PhD back. I knew that something like this had to exist… there had to be more to this story. Now that we have it in order… let us finish translating it and see just how right I am." Horatio stated as he picked up the first book and was join by both Dr. Cortez and Jonathon as he began to premise what he was reading.

            "It seems that this starts with Ramza's thoughts right after their final battle with... St. Adjora… my god, he actually reached that battle." Horatio stated looking at the other two men. 

            "We can get to the part between this and the Durai Papers later… first read." Simon insisted.

            "Of course, it opens up with Ramza's thoughts as he floated through the void that was left from that final battle. It appears that Ramza and his group actually held on to the Holy Stones. It was them that allowed them to be freed of the place." Horatio answered.

            "Well, read, what does it say?" Jonathon asked impatiently.

            "Well… here goes." Horatio said before taking a deep breath and starting with the actual text of the scripture.

Well, that's what I am going to post in the first chapter. Coming up is just what was listed, Ramza and the aftermath of the battle with St Adjora/Bloody Angel 


	2. To Tempt Fate

Authors Note: All the yada yada stuff. I don't own the characters from the game but I do own mine, if you use them without my permission I have permission to eat your first born… things like that. Stuff in Italics is direct thoughts of characters. It should be understandable who's thinking it by the dialogue of the thought but if not I am sure that I can come up with something just let me know. Also the two period breaks (……) are shifting back to present of the story just in case you didn't catch it. Enjoy

**Chapter 2: To tempt fate**

_I stand on the brink… I look off into the explosion and wonder… "is it really over?" I have fought for so long… to long for it to come down to this. My family is gone save my sister, I myself cannot return to that which I called home and so many thing have since happened… would I really want to. The explosion is beginning to clear now and I see my friends… they have survived… we all have. I look at the glowing gems in my pouch… the thirteen zodiac stones that started this whole mess. All this time they have led to nothing but misery and despair… now they have saved our lives. Perhaps the idea was correct… perhaps the stones are neither good nor evil. It would seem they merely reflected the inner heart of their user. Ha! Inner heart… was mine really that pure to be saved by these holy stones? My friends and I float aimlessly around in the void that is meant to be our grave and the stones still glow as if to tell me something. Perhaps they have found a way out… but why would I leave this place? There is no place for me to go out there… all I have left is my friends…_

            "Ramza… I think we have found a way out of here." A blonde haired warrior came to the boy floating in deep thought. He looked at her… he had always admired… no something more then admiration, what he did not know, but he did regard her fondly.

            _What is it about you that I find so interesting? You wear that cross still, despite the fact that we now know that St. Ajora is completely evil. But more I think I respect you for your faith... I trust you… you, Orlandu, Mustadio, Meliadoul, all of you have shown me great kindness. You are all here for your own reasons but you also are here to help me save __Alma__. We are all we have left… even if we do escape from here; we have no home out there. Our world is now gone, the war destroyed it and we are no better then dead. But perhaps…_

            He shook his head clear. He looked up at the twenty-three year old knight in front of him. He couldn't help but notice the smile on her face.

            "You're happy; do we have a way out of here?" He asked her. She looked up at him and her happiness grew… he was back to his old self.

            "I think so, Orlandu took his crystal to a point to the north of here and it seemed to punch a small hole in the barrier that is keeping us here. Mustadio surmises that if all six of us focus the power of our stones on that spot we may be able to cause something to happen. It's only a theory but its all we've got." She stated losing her smile. She couldn't believe that after all that, after all they had been through that they were destined to be suck in this void forever.

            _Ramza__, you look so peaceful looking at me like… have you accepted this fate? But why, why would you do that. You have your sister and there is a whole world for you to live for out there. Why do you look at me as if I should be the happy one? I have nothing now… everything I fought for was a lie. I believe in St Ajora, but now I am left with nothing. What is it that you see in me? You can't see beauty because there is none there. You can see a soul because I have none. I have fought for the devil for so long… I cannot have a soul._

            "What are you thinking about in there? Come on, you were so happy before. You mustn't allow the darkness of sadness cloud the sunlight that is your beauty." Ramza said snapping her out of her thoughts for a moment. Both of them simply looked at each for what seemed like forever.

            _Did I just say that? I mean, of course she is pretty but what would posses me to say something like… could it be that what I feel is… no, impossible. After all that I have and couldn't do I don't deserve that kind of happiness… I must have just been joking._

_            Did he just say what I thought he said? He couldn't of… why would he? I have no beauty, I am just a warrior, a fighter who has lost her cause. What purpose would I have for feeling… feeling… what I now in my heart to be correct. This absurd, I am a warrior; I cannot let my feeling cloud my judgment or I am no better… no better… no better then a… woman._

_            They both stared at each other… neither of them wished to respond to the comments that Ramza just made. But then after looking deeply at each other… they both broke out in loud uproar laughter. _

            "Thank you Ramza, I am fine. Come on, let's join the others." Agrias stated floating towards the remainder of the group. Ramza smiled to himself putting what just happened off as nothing. Agrias for her part had deeper thoughts.

          _He was just trying to cheer me up. He is a great friend and an even better ally… so why do I feel the way I do? Why does it hurt that we laughed at that moment? What did I expect to happen? He can't love me… no one can. I am a warrior who has sold her soul… what would he ever see in me. Bah! Why am I thinking this, I am a warrior, I have no time for thoughts like. These are the thoughts of a school girl not those of a Knight. I must clear my head of these thoughts… but how do I clear my heart?_

            She shook her and noticed that Ramza was looking at her. She knew he was concerned about as any friend would be. But she laughed and floated on ahead of him. He smiled and joined her. A few moments later they join Alma, Orlandu, and Mustadio at the place where the barrier was destabilized. 

            "Ahh good, you are both here. Now all we need is Meliadoul… I wonder she is?" Orlandu greeted the two. Mustadio looked around and could not see, so he decided that he should go look for her.

            "Orlandu, Alma, explain to them my theory, I am gonna go look for her." Mustadio stated as he floated off. Alma moved to join him.

            "Hold on I'll go with you." She stated in her normal happy voice. Mustadio stopped moment and turned to respond.

            "No, I can find her. Just stay here, I won't be long." He responded before flying off again. She still moved to join him when she was stopped by the blue armor encrusted arm of her far older companion Orlandu. She had only known him for a short time but already knew that he was far beyond her in wisdom.

            "But…" She tried in vain.

            "No, let him go. This is something he must do." Orlandu responded watching him fly off. Alma just looked up at him and wondered what he meant. Orlandu thought about what was going on around him.

            _From tragedy comes many things. Strength, wisdom, courage, but I guess in this case love is the aftermath. But do either of them know, I fear that what he has to say to her neither of them are ready to hear._

            "Something troubling you old friend?" Ramza asked noticing that Orlandu had not taken his eyes off the now out sight Mustadio.

            "Of course not, I guess now is the time I explain what we need to do like he asked me to do." Orlandu said snapping back to reality. He then went on to do just that. 

            "Mustadio believes that we ourselves are the reason that the barrier is in place. Murond has felt that there are living souls within its void and placed a barrier to keep its prey. However we believe that if all six of us point our respective Zodiac crystal at the barrier that we will be able to break this barrier and return to our… the world." Orlandu stated correcting himself. He knew as well as any of them that this was no longer their world. Ramza thought about if for a while then asked the question that was on everybody's minds.

            "When we get back to that world where will we go? According to the Galbados Church we are all heretics if not dead. We can't just go gallivanting around out there and pick our lives where we left off… mostly because they no longer exist. I am sure that for a while we could find shelter in Goug with Mustadio's father or with Reis and Beowulf… if they made it, but other then that there is no place for us out there. Where do we go from here?" He asked as the others just looked off into space with their own thoughts. Alma was the first to speaking and was of course the voice of optimism. 

            "Then we will find a place. How do we know that Ivalice is all that is out there? There could be hundreds of lands just waiting to be explored and why not those explorers be us? We know that there have been civilizations on this Ivalice for centuries, that…"

……………………………………………………

            "Wait a second; did she just say what I think she said?" Asked Jonathon who had been attentively listening to Horatio and Simon's translation until this point.

            "What do you mean?" Asked Dr. Cortez

            "I think you're right, damn Simon, you taught this boy well. If what Alma said is true… then there have been civilizations on the planet for certainly far more then the 900 years originally believed but now it seems for far more then the 2000 years we have come to believe… astounding." Horatio said thinking about where he would put his numerous Alistair Prizes. 

            "One anthropological breakthrough at a time gentleman. Let us get back to this work so that we can understand what we have now. There will be time for the evolution of civilization at a later time." Simon said breaking both of the other two men out of their daydreams.

            "Of course Simon, would you care to get the next part, it looks to be more your style." Horatio said handing over the scripture. 

            "Certainly. Continuing on with what Alma was saying…"

…………………………………………………...

            "… you learned through those jobs that your group did for those tavern keepers. Perhaps it is time we find the origins of those civilizations." She concluded. The others just looked at her as if she had a second head growing from her chest. About that she thought she did. Throughout all of it Agrias was think about what she said.

            _You have a lot of heart kid, no wonder Ramza was willing to risk his life and I guess sacrifice it to save you. I wonder if he would do that for me. Perhaps it is time that I hang up my sword and do what she says… I certainly have enough knowledge to handle myself out in world that no one has ever seen. I am a clean slate as it were. I believe in nothing and have no world to call my own… perhaps it is time that I make one._

            "I think that's a great idea Alma." Agrias said snapping everybody back to reality. Alma for her part was overjoyed to hear that someone agreed with her. Ramza and Orlandu slow agreed with the notion and they three of them began to discuss it as Alma looked on and pondered.

            _They agree… at least I can give them another path. They are here because of me, it's the least I could do. Of course, Ramza would just say that it was because of the stones and Ajora… but I know it was my weakness that caused all of this. Look at those two, my brother is in love and he doesn't even know. Or course that's not a surprise seeing as how Agrias doesn't realize she's in love either. I hope we find a way out of this place and a place to call our own… so that they can be happy together._

_            "What troubles your mind young Alma?" Orlandu asked bringing her back to consciousness. _

            "Nothing why?" She retorted.

            "Because you have allowed the light current here to carry you away from the group." Orlandu informed her. She looked around and realized that she had floated quite a distance. 

            "I am sorry to worry you."

            "Oh I am not worried about that, but I do want to know what you were thinking." Orlandu asked. She decided that it was best to tell despite the fact that if she asked he would not ask again… she had known him only a short time and already looked up to him.

            _ You are so much like my father was. Honorable, caring, wise, how could Dycedarg turn out the way he did? How could he be corrupted by the stones? But then… what right do I have to ask that question… I was living embodiment of the devil._

            "You are thinking to deep for a nineteen year old girl Alma; tell me what it is that is troubling you. I have been around a lot longer then you have and I probably could help." Orlandu stated noticing that she had slipped back into herself. 

            "Perhaps you're right." She responded getting ready to express ideas that she had planned on locking away.

            "Of course I'm right… I'm old." Orlandu said as they both chuckled. He knew how to lighten a mood and saw the she need it.

            "Do you think… do you think that this is my fault?" Alma asked breaking through the laughter. Orlandu thought about it for a moment.

            _Of course I don't think this is your fault… you never willing accepted Virgo or St. Ajora. But that is not what you are wanting to hear. But perhaps there is another way…_

            "What do you think?" He asked her. She was caught off guard by this. She was expecting him to say that, no he didn't and that she shouldn't either. But he was asking her what she thought. How could she respond to that but with the truth.

            "Yes, I do. There was nothing I could do. I got captured by the Zodiac monsters and got turned into the devil himself. Ramza, Agrias… you, you are all down here to help me, to rescue me and I attacked you. So yes, this is my fault." She finished and looked up to see him shaking his head in agreement.

            "I have to admit, you are correct about all of those things. But if I remember correctly, you got captured trying to help people. Then because you were captured you were her to cast very helpful magic in our battle with Ajora. In addition it wasn't you that attacked us it was Ajora which you helped us defeat. If you asking me whether I believe what you say about the events leading up to our current predicament, then my answer is yes. However, if you asking me if those events happened because of you… well let me ask you this, if you could have broken free of your captors would you have?" He asked her.

            "Yes."

            "And if you could have stopped them from taking you to Murond, would you have?"

            "Yes."

            "And if you could have stood up against Ajora would you have?"

            "In a heartbeat."

            "That is where you are wrong and that is why I believe there is not fault to be had. Because you did stand against Ajora, and because of that, you have earned the respect of everyone here. Do not worry about us, we came here of our free will with our own reasons. The reason of rescuing you was just something that Ramza's leadership instilled in us. Now come on, let's go back to the love birds." Orlandu stated with a smile. Alma was ecstatic, not once did he claim it wasn't her fault. He never said that what she thought was wrong. Perhaps… it wasn't her fault after all. She was content to leave it at that until Orlandu's closing words sunk in.

            "You see it too?" She asked.

            "A blind water buffalo could see the fact that those two love each other… I am not sure why they can't." Orlandu returned scratching his head.

            "My brother is hopeless." Alma said returning to her normally extremely happy self.

            "As is Agrias… well, here's hoping that those two make something of themselves." Orlandu said starting back to where the two were still talking about the outside world.

            "Wait… Orlandu?" Alma said stopping him.

            "Yes?"

            "Thank you. I needed someone to tell me that this wasn't my fault… without telling me that it wasn't my fault. That was skill that only my father could do." She said bowing her head remembering her father.

            "Balbanes was a noble among nobles. He was the greatest knight to ever grace this world… perhaps save his son." Orlandu stopped short.

            "Zalbag?" She asked.

            "No, Ramza. He fights for what he believes in… not what he is blindly told to do which most knights… even myself at one point did."

            "You seem to have a lot of faith in both of us." She said with a smile.

            "It was something your father instilled in me. He asked me to take care of you once he was gone. It is that I intend on doing… now that we are all we have." He said with a smile of his own. Alma just glowed at thought of this.

            _I barely know you and already I love you like I loved my father. I knew that he would find some way to take care of us and I am glad that you are that way._

            "Well, as you said, let us return to the lovebirds… daddy." Alma stated with a giggle. Orlandu just shook his head and joined her.

            _If that is what you wish to call me young __Alma__ then by all means do so. I don't think Balbanes or I would have it any other way. However, I do wonder what is going with Mustadio and Meliadoul. I hope those two are alright…_

            Meanwhile, Mustadio had finally found Meliadoul sitting on a small fragment of what was left of the graveyard of airships.

            "It took me long enough to find you." He called out to her.

            _Great… he is the last thing I need right now._

            "Where have you been all this time?" Mustadio asked floating up to her. She merely turned away from him.

            "Hey what's wrong? We may have found a way back but we need all six of us to use it." He asked her his concern building.

            _Can he really be that insensitive? Can they really be that dense?_

            "Melia, what's wrong?" He asked her using the nickname he had come up with.

            _There is that stupid name again. But… if it is so stupid why does it make my heart melt to her him call me by it? _

            "Don't you understand… don't any of you understand?" She asked him quietly.

            "Understand what? Melia you're not making any sense." He commented flying closer to her.

            "UNDERSTAND WHAT!? Of course you don't understand… you couldn't know." She screamed loud enough that it echoed through there area. 

            "You're right, I can't know something you won't tell me." He responded calmly.

            _There is that damn logic again. Why do you have to make things sound so simple?_

            "You want to know what's bothering me!" She asked forcefully.

            "Yes, actually I do." He responded still as calm as ever.

            "Don't you all realize that this was meant to be our grave? Fate stated that we die down here… after we are in hell aren't we? But once again those damn stones deny me my… my…" She couldn't continue, it was just too much for her. Mustadio for his part thought about what he could say.

            "Your what?" He asked.

            "My family. My father was taken by the stones and the monster that he became killed my brother and try to kill me and then I watched him die. I just wanted to die to but no, those damn stones wouldn't allow me to die. They once again block fate's hand." She said through tears. Mustadio look at her and wished he could take her into his arms and make it go away. He didn't like seeing anyone in tears especially her… although he didn't know why.

            _I have seen people cry hundreds of thousands of times…what is it about you that makes my heart hurt to hear you weep and see tears roll down your face?_

            "I am not sure what to say." He told her shaking his head.

            "Of course you don't. You could never understand what it means to have you family endanger by the accursed war!" She screamed turning away from him.

            "Now hold on a minute there. The whole reason I am here is because my father was almost killed after we discover one of the 'damn stones' in Goug. He was hunted and captured by an evil man and that man force me to hand over the stone to him and would have killed me if Ramza hadn't shown up to save my life. He's saved my life more times then I can count." He concluded.

            "Yeah, Ramza has a way of doing that doesn't he?" She returned still through tears. 

            "The point is I do understand at least in some aspects what you are going through." He retorted.

            _I know he is just trying to help but this is where I was supposed to die. Fate had this in store for me as my punishment._

            "No, you can't… at least your father is still alive. I have nothing left. I just want to die like fate said I should… like it said we all should." She said sniffling.

            "I am scientist… I don't believe in fate. If it is fate that said we die here than I say fate be damned. Your brother didn't care about fate. He stood up against your father though he knew he could win." Mustadio said coming around to her front. He looked at her face… though it was streamed in tears it was still beautiful. Her green eyes were darker then any emerald and nose was just round enough to compliment her face. It hit him, in that moment and he knew what he must do.

            "What do you know about fate and my brother?" She asked looking into his eyes. In that moment she felt something she had felt before but was always able to suppress, however this time it was overtaking her.

            "Maybe I don't know about either but I do know about us. You know, you say fate had us to die here but I think that it actually wanted something more for us. Maybe it was the stones, maybe it was fate, or maybe it was just our own tenacity that save us, but one thing I know is that we are alive. It time that we start living." Mustadio said as tear became worse in Meliadoul eyes.

            _ He just doesn't understand… although I can't blame him. No one can understand what I am going through… although I guess he is trying. But it is too late…_

            "You just don't get it do you. We are supposed to be dead. None of us have anything to live for, me least of all. It doesn't matter what my brother did or wanted because both he and my father are dead.  Fate stated that this was supposed to be our grave and I think it's about time I help it along." She said pushing him away and drawing her sword. She placed the point of the blade to her heart. Mustadio regained his bearing and stopped from floating backwards. He saw what she was about to do and pulled his gun. 

            "So you pull your gun on me. I don't think it will do you any good because it will leave the same result as this sword if just a little bit less messy. So by all means, fire. But I ask that you be kind and aim for my heart, so that I don't have to feel what I feel." She said looking straight at his gun barrel. She thought either way the end was near.

            "My bolt won't kill you, but it will stop you from doing what you are doing. I don't want to fire but I cannot allow you to go through with this." He said preparing a paralyzing charge.

            _What is with him? Why can't he just get it over with or allow me to do. There is nothing I have to live for anymore… save if he… but he would never do that so why is he doing this?_

            "Why are you delaying the inevitable? What is it that you want?" She asked looking right into his heart. What she saw amazed her but not as much as his next set of words would.

            _It's now or never I guess. I never thought I would ever be able to say this to her but I guess the time has come…_

            "Because Melia… I love you. From the first moment I saw I felt something for you. Even though you were trying to kill me I knew there something more inside you. I know that we have only known each other for a short time but it has been enough for me to know that there is no other person I would rather be with then you. I know that we are polar opposites. You area temple knight and I am scientist and I know that there is nothing left in that world for us apart. I also know that neither separately have anything to live for. But maybe together we can make something to live for in a world that we can call our own. So please, put down your sword and let us tempt fate… together." He concluded. His heart was racing, he finally said what he had wanted to say for so long. But would she believe him.

            _Did he just say he loved me? But that is absurd… my heart and mind are playing tricks on me. I cannot be happy, I cannot have heard something that would make me that happy. I couldn't have heard it, I couldn't have, I couldn't have, I couldn't have…_

            Mustadio noticed that she had raised her sword and he reacted by pulling the trigger to his gun…

………………………………………………..

            "Wait a minute! So he shot her? That's the worst romance novel I have ever heard." A young girl stated interrupting Dr. Cortez. She stood at the door dressed in what appeared to a black sleeveless vest and a matching short skirt. She had red hair which was tied back into a pony tail that reach down to about a quarter of the quarter of the way down her shoulders and was about 5'6" tall. She didn't look any older then twenty.

            "Hello Sarah. Horatio this is my other star pupil, Miss Sarah McAllister. What is it that you want Sarah?" Dr. Cortez said somewhat annoyed.

            "Oh, I am sorry Dr. Cortez… I was trying not to interrupt. I wanted to drop off these papers but I heard that you were reading a romance novel to Jonathon and… what was your name?" She asked looking over at the man in rags.

            "Horatio Marcus… Dr. Horatio Marcus." He responded. 

            "For your information Sarah, this is not a romance novel, it is a journal attached to the Durai papers that I found on a dig recently." Jonathon stated beaming at his accomplishment.

            "Really, more to the Durai papers? That is Dr. Marcus is here, to help translate. Do you mind if I sit in and listen?" She asked nicely sitting down before an answer could be given. Dr. Cortez had no choice but to agree. 

            "Fine, fine, fine, just as long as you don't ask questions and don't interrupt anymore." Dr. Cortez stated.

            "Consider my mouth zipped." She said leaning back into the chair she was sitting in. Horatio took the scripture and continued to read.

            "It look like this part goes back to Ramza's group…"

……………………………………………..

            Rmaza, Alma, Orlandu and Agrias were awaiting the return of their friend when they heard a gunshot ring out. 

            "Mustadio!" Ramza said looking off in the direction of the shot.

            "Let's go." Orlandu said flying in the direction.

            "Agrias stay here and protect Alma… we won't be long… I hope." Ramza said joining up with Orlandu. Alma for her part was worry but also annoyed that Ramza didn't want her along. Agrias however had different thoughts.

            _You are asking me to protect __Alma__… you trust me that much. Perhaps there is more to what I feel then I thought… nah. He just believes in my abilities… hum._

            Meanwhile, both Meliadoul and Mustadio just floated there frozen in time as the smoke from the gunshot cleared. When it had, Meliadoul looked at him and lowered her sword... he had fired, he missed, but he had fired.

            "Why did you do that?" She asked him.

            "Because I will not let this end that way. I will not allow you to end your life. I say fate be damned… it is time that you and I make our fate together. I love you and I will not let you go that easily." He stated lowering his gun. She looked at him and saw straight to his heart again. His eyes were dark brown but his heart was pure gold.

            _He did say it… fate be damned it is not my time. I have found something to live for… Love!_

            She floated over to him and grabbed him. He returned her embrace and for the first time they saw each other as one. They knew that they would face any challenge, no matter how difficult they were about to become together and in that moment their lips came together for the first time and magic just exploded around them. Ramza and Orlandu just stopped dead in their tracks when they came upon the scene. Orlandu shook his head knowing that it would come to this… Ramza for his part just looked confused. Orlandu cleared his throat loud enough for them to hear. They broke their embrace and looked on at their friends. 

            "What was that shot we heard." Orlandu asked the couple who were still holding each other. Ramza was still confused about the whole thing.

            "Sorry about that…" Mustadio said and went on to explain the whole thing between them as they flew back to their friends. Alma immediately noticed that Meliadoul and Mustadio were holding hands and started glowing. 

            "I am so happy for you two! I wish two others would be as…" Orlandu cleared his throat and stopped her before she could finish.

            "Oh… sorry." She said looking down. Agrias and Ramza just looked at each other and looked back confused… Orlandu could only shake his head. Mustadio reluctantly separated from Meiladoul and grabbed his Zodiac from Ramza and pointed it at the opening in the barrier. Instantly a beam of energy was emitted from it and the barrier began to ripple. 

            "Come on everyone… we have a world to go back too." He stated as Orlandu joined him follwed by Meliadoul who kissed him on the cheek. Ramza and Agrias were next as the five energy beams began breaking down the barrier Alma looked on.

            _Come on Virgo… you turned me into a devil before not I say send us home._

            She pointed the Virgo stone towards the barrier and the beam joined the rest soon they were over taken by a flash of and swept away in what appeared to be a tunnel of some kind then everything went dark. 

            Well that's it for now, remember to review. Next up, the world…


	3. A winter night's lament

Authors Note: Well, here is the third chapter. I apologize about it taking so long, it takes me a while to get inspiration and this was a lot of work. I want to get more reviews but I guess I will just have to keep writing and get more people interested. Enjoy and review if you read.

            "Well, so they managed to escape Murond after all. Very interesting seeing as how it was supposed to be impossible." Dr. Cortez stated putting down the scriptures he had been reading to his colleagues. To his right sat his fellow translator Horatio Marcus. Horatio was still dressed in the rags that his now undignified drumming out had forced him to wear. In front of him were his two star students. On his left arm was Jonathon Griggs, an archeology major. Jonathon had been Dr. Cortez's assistant and dare he say it friend for sometime now. On Jonathon's right sat a younger girl to his twenty-two. She was only twenty and was an anthropology major. However she had stumbled upon the three men reading and translating the scripture and decided to add herself to the mix. However, Sarah McAllister presence would soon become more fortuitous then any of them would know.

            "Well, what happens next?" Sarah asked eager to hear what the next step in this great adventure that was being told to her was. However, both of the old men puzzled over the next part of the diary.

            "I know I have seen this before. It is a dialect of ancient Ixalian but it seems to be something much fancier… odd." Horatio said looking over at his doctor friend.

            "Why would this be here… most of this is written in country standard Ixalian… but this seems to combine a few different aspects of Ixalian, Percellian, and something else I don't recognize." Dr. Cortez commented. Meanwhile Sarah was taking a look over the words that these two experts in the field of ancient translation had trouble with and started to read it to herself. 

            "There… I stood alone… with… all of my… friends in some sort of…" She stated to herself loud enough for everyone to hear.

            "Sarah, are you saying that you can read this?" Jonathon asked. He looked up at her with a whole new respect… he thought this sophomore had gained too high of a reputation with Dr. Cortez but now he began to believe he may have been mistaken.

            "Of course, you are right about the Ixalian, but there is more of the basic Igronian here, not Percellian." She stated looking back at her professor. Jonathon for his pert just sat there with this kind of dumbfounded look on his face. He had known of her and knew she possessed something; she had to, otherwise Dr. Cortez wouldn't have given her a second thought. But to be able to translate something that these two masters of language couldn't… now that was something else.

            "Well, what does it appear to be Sarah?" Horatio asked truly intrigued by the fact that she could read what he could not.

            "It looks like Alma's thoughts. Perhaps she had a different writing style the Ramza. After all, she was brought up in an aristocratic school. It only makes sense that she would have a different education then her brother who was brought up as a knight." She concluded. Dr. Cortez could only laugh at how much his student had learned.

            "Well, seeing as how she is the only one that can read this, I say that we let her continue. I am ready to keep writing at anytime." Jonathon said smiling in her direction. Sarah simply returned the smile and brushed a stray lock of red hair from her face. 

            "Excellent idea Jonathon. If you would Sarah." Dr. Cortez stated taking a seat. Sarah was overjoyed that Dr. Cortez had gotten over his earlier annoyance at her presence. She picked up the scripture, cleared her throat and began again.

……………………………………………….

**Chapter 3: A winter night's lament**

            _Did we make it? Did this evil jewel really help us get home? Why do I feel so cold then...? Father! If I am dead where is my father? No… it couldn't be, did this damn thing steal my soul… am I… in hell?_

            Alma awoke with a scream, she was having a nightmare. She believed that she and her brother had been fighting god and that she was possessed by a demon and that she, her brother and his friends had all died because of her. She sat up and looked around expecting to see the inside of Beoulve Manor… what she got was a snow covered forest. She looked around and saw that her brother's… her friends were lying there in the snow with her but they were motionless. 

            _No! I won't believe this… it was a nightmare, this is a nightmare. This didn't happen._

_            She was lost in thought… shaking her head as if to try to clear this image from her memory. But it did not go away when she opened her eyes. Still there were the forms of her fallen friends, still there was the bleak grey of the overcast sky, still there was the juxtaposition of the white snow and the brown, leafless trees, and still there were the thoughts and memories of the crimes she had committed. She remember Orlandu's words to her well but with him there to remind her of those words she was left with nothing but sorrow. She pulled herself over to her brother who laid there lifeless when she noticed an odd glow. It was the stone of Taurus… his stone. _

            _Why do you glow… if your master is dead why do you glow?_

_            She reached over and placed a hand on his back and was startled to find that he was still breathing._

            _But how?__ I killed you, I killed all of you… or did I?_

_            This last thought hit her like a chocobo stampede. Perhaps Ramza was right, perhaps the stones themselves are not evil or good. Could it be that the stones were… protecting them? _

            _Even if they are protecting them… why protect me? I am evil… I am a demon. I nearly killed all of them. I am the Bloody Angel… aren't I? But then, what of Orlandu's words… I fought against the Angel of Death… I fought and defeated him. I don't think that I am a saint… but perhaps there is more to me then simply being a demon._

_            She shook her head clear of the thoughts she was having and remember her predicament. She was cold, very cold. It was apparent that when she woke up the protection of the stone had dispersed. She needed to find someway of keeping herself warm. She thought for a little while, back to her early childhood when her father would take her brothers out camping, or least what she thought was camping. It later turned out that he was actually going on scouting missions, but to her it seemed like camping. Of course, she was never allowed to go but one time she did manage to sneak away and join them. She watched from afar the teaching Balbanes gave to Ramza about how to build fires and find shelter in the dead of winter. She thanked herself for both watching intently and her ingenuity about not getting caught that trip. Despite the extreme cold she was feeling she got herself up and set to her task. Within a few hours she had a fire built and a shelter for all of them set up. It was a simple lean-to; she didn't know what else to do. It worked in keeping the cool night wind away from her though. She looked around at everyone hoping to see some signs of waking but there were none. It was at that point that she really got to thinking about what was going on._

            _How long have we been out here… wherever here is. I wonder how much time has passed. When I entered Murond it was the middle of spring and now the ground is covered in snow and the wind is cold. It doesn't matter I guess… time does not pass for those that have died. Died… am I really dead to this world… I have to go find a town. I haven't eaten and I have no weapons or skills to hunt. But, what will I find in town… or what will find me?_

            She looked up at the stars in the sky. The clouds had since cleared out and with them any chance of heat being held in place. Alma shivered as the wind nipped at her. Her dress, while once fashionable, was now torn asunder. It was once beautiful, red with gold trim and long enough to cover her to her ankles. Under it she wore a simple white turtle neck undershirt. However, now massive rips in the seams from where Adjora had manifested himself in her marked it. She shivered at the thought of just what Adjora was but decided not to think about it now. She looked back out and saw for a road that stretched through the forest. She had seen it earlier but never really gave it a second look until now. This time however, she saw someone going down that road. It looked like a Royal carriage, though she didn't recognize the crest. The carriage was decked out in fine silk runners and made of the finest brown mahogany that seemed to be covered in bronze to give it an even more regal look. She didn't care what it looked like, she ran for it anyway, the minor frostbite in her legs didn't even seem to bother her as she ran towards the first living beings that she had seen since she awoke. As she got closer she seemed to pass through something.

            _What was that flash? Am I dreaming? Is what I feel real… of course it is? I feel cold, pain… or am I dead? If I am dead why I am here in this frozen waste and what is this carriage that is before me. _

_            Finally, after what seemed like days she reached the side of the road and collapsed. The carriage master reigned in the horses and jumped off. He was a young man, not much more then twenty two or three wear the traditional garb of a royal stable keeper which consisted of a rather large plaid hat, silver overalls and a green tunic that carried that once again foreign royal crest. He was just a little bit taller then her which wasn't saying much seeing as she was short in the first place. He had brown hair and hazel eyes. She looked up at him just as he jumped off his perch._

            "Why have we stopped boy?" A deep but strangely family voice rang through her ears which had been filled with only her own thoughts and the sound of the wind lately. She looked up and saw that the voice was coming from inside the carriage.

            "There seems to be an injured girl in the road my liege. What shall I do?" The carriage driver asked. Through blurred vision Alma saw a light from inside the carriage begin to burn and a man's figure look out.

            "What seems to be the extent of her injuries?" The man asked. The carriage driver looked over her broken form and simply shook his head.

            "She seems to have been out here a while. It seems that she is heavily frostbitten. As for why she is out here… from the looks of it I would say that she was a tavern maid who turned down one two many cat calls. With the damage to her clothes… I am not doctor but I can only assume that she was raped your highness." The carriage driver summed up as if she wasn't even there. The words however seemed to hollow out her brain.

            _Raped! Raped? Was I… raped? Is that what the Bloody Angel did to me? He took my body and used it as he saw fit. He seized my soul and wouldn't allow it to escape, he tortured my mind… made me do things against my will. He tore from the precious innocence of a teenaged girl. I guess it is true what he says… I was raped. I am still a virgin but yet I was raped. I am nothing but trash… perhaps I should have just sat there and died…_

_            The carriage driver bent down to look at her closer but she was too lost in the thought to see him. _

            "My lord… she won't last much longer out her. What should we do?" He asked the man in the carriage. The man simply shook his head and opened the door.

            "Let me have a look at her." The man said stepping out of the carriage. He was as finely dressed as the carriage he rode in. His robes were of red fur outlined with what appeared to be white tiger skins. His armor was pure gold that reflected the light of the moon almost blindingly. The crest in the center was the same crest that had been everywhere else. He had brown hair which was slicked back. Strangely though his eyes seemed to be a hallow shade of grey. The color was ghostly, almost as if he had seen too great a sorrow and cried the color straight out of them. He knelt down next to her and she finally snapped back into reality and began to try to escape from. He held onto to her in hopes of preventing further damage.

            "Whoa, whoa, there. I am not here to hurt you. My name is Delita, I am your king." 

………………………………………………..

            "Delita! Are you sure that you read that right Sarah?" Dr. Cortez interrupted. Sarah reread then passage twice to make sure she had done so and each time she came up with the same name.

            "Yes Doctor that is what she wrote." Sarah responded. The two older men just looked at each other utterly dumbfounded at what they had just heard. Jonathon thought about it for a second and then remembered why the two men were acting this way.

            "Sarah, you are sure that the name written there is Delita. The same Delita that ruled all of the Ivalian continent." Jonathon asked her

            "Yes, that is the name here, now whether it is the same person is something yet to be seen. Its odd though, shouldn't he have recognized her? After all, wasn't Delita a member of Beoulve family for a time?" She asked to the room. Horatio for his part had been thinking about a few things.

            "We don't know how much time has passed from the explosion of Murond to this point. Perhaps years have gone by and Delita simply forgot." He concluded. The four of them looked at the scripture. Sarah had been thinking about what she had read and a few things just didn't add up to her.

            "If that was true… how could she have been alive at all? Furthermore, in all that time wouldn't someone have seen them or more to the point, wouldn't they have decomposed being exposed to the elements like that?" Sarah inquired. Jonathon could help but notice how her brow wrinkled when she thought critically like this. Then he kicked himself for paying so much attention to her.

            "Perhaps… but she stated something about the stones protecting them. Not to mention the flash she saw. It almost seems as if once she crossed that flash, her body caught up with her. Could it be that those stone were doing just what she said they were?" Horatio stated snapping Jonathon's attention away. 

            "Perhaps, but we are dealing with pure fantasy here. We don't even know if the Durai papers and the powers they claim exist actually did. We are stabbing at things we don't and probably couldn't understand." Dr. Cortez intervened. Sarah simply shook her head at this comment. She knew both of these men better then this. She had studied both of their works quite extensively and knew they were more open-minded then this.

            "Doctor, think about it. This was two millennia ago. To people from this time our computers, cars, airplanes, all of this would seem to be mythical and magical to them. Just like their magic powers, summonings and holy stones are to us." Sarah stated looking over at Jonathon who was getting ready to speak.

            "Yeah, and besides, we are supposed to be phenomenologists. We know that what seems impossible can very often be true. Just because we have not seen magic doesn't mean that it never existed. And besides… it was once believed that civilization was only nine hundred years old until two university professors found a set of papers that proved that there has been civilization on this planet for centuries more. What is it you once said to Mr. Marcus Dr. Cortez… 'There are more things in heaven and earth then that which are dreamed of in you philosophy Horatio." Jonathon concluded as the two students took one another's hand into a shake. Their hands lingered together as they seemed to be more then celebrating their verbal victory.

            "Uhhum,' Dr. Cortez cleared his throat snapping the two back to reality, 'be that as it may, we are not going to learn anything if we don't continue with the reading. Sarah if you please." He concluded as Sarah and Jonathon smiled at each other.

            "Of course Doctor." She said as she continued.

……………………………………………………

            _Delita__… but why do you not recognize me… and why did I not recognize you? Is it really you? Or did someone take your name? But no, I feel the same energy from you as I did he… but you are so… so… different._

            "King Hyrule, are you sure it is safe to be with her like that… she could attack you." Said an armor clad man inside the carriage. He was a little bit taller then Delita covered in white armor with the same crest as Delita's. His hair was blond and on his arm he bore the symbol of the dragon. 

            "You worry too much Beowulf… she cannot hurt me, she cannot even look at me. Strange though… I could have sworn I have seen her somewhere before. She almost looks like… but no, that can't be possible." Delita said the last part to himself but loud enough that Beowulf could hear him.

            "What is that my lord… have you seen this girl before?" He asked him.

            "If I didn't know that she was dead and that her funeral was in three days… I would almost say that this Alma Beoulve." Delita said with a chuckle.

            "That's absurd my lord. Reis and I saw Ramza and the other four drawn into Murond… nothing could have survived that." Beowulf concluded.

            "Perhaps my friend… but the fact of the matter is that we have an injured girl here. And on the soul of my late wife I could not just let her lie here. Driver, help me get her inside… we shall take her back to the castle with us." He said this last part with a bit of crack in his voice. Beowulf had noticed it almost every time he talked about his former wife. It was still an ache on his king's heart to this day the fact that she committed suicide a few short days after her coronation. Delita for his part was helping the driver and noticed that the girl was trying to speak.

            _Even if means death by execution… it is still better then freezing to death._

            "Plea…se hel… help… my fri… friends." She struggled to say pointing towards the general direction that she came from. Delita looked out and saw nothing but field and forest.

            "There is nothing out there miss… you must be hallucinating…" He said as he helped her inside.

            _What… are you blind. Your best friend… or mortal enemy is out there. I am not sure which one you left on but he is there… surely you feel him… you always used to._

            Her thoughts were interrupted by the carriage master putting her feet inside the warm cabin of the carriage. She looked out onto the field and to her great sorrow she saw that he was right. She couldn't believe it…

            _No… where did they go… was I hallucinating? No, I felt them, I felt them all. I felt the power of those accursed stones… I still do!_

            She screamed in her thoughts as pain ripped through her young body as she jumped down from the warmth of the carriage and ran off towards her campsite. As she got closer she felt like she was once again passing through something and there it was again… all of it. Ramza was still lying on side, Agrias near him. Mustadio and Meliadoul were still lying hand in hand and Orlandu, who landed head first, was still lying face first in the snow.

            _What is going on here? Why one minute can I see them and next I can't? What is that damn flash… what the hell are these stones doing to me?_

_            Delita had bounded after her and caught up to her where she seemed to stand dazed almost as if she saw something he didn't However, it was not something that he saw it something that he felt that caught his attention._

            "No… it couldn't be. But it is… it's him. Ramza, I feel you here. I am not sure why or how but I do… but there is nothing here other then this barmaid that looks like your sister. Do you haunt me for what I have done… do you haunt me for the murders I have committed… do you haunt me for becoming what I most hate… or do you haunt me just because you can't have what I have. No matter Ramza… you are dead, your soul was taken by Saint Adjora and you will now face eternal damnation for not leaving when you had the chance… you are the fool and I am king… I am rid of you Ramza… forever!" He screamed the last part into the night. Alma looked up at him… he had changed since the last time she had seen him. In his eyes there had always been this light but now… all she saw was darkness.

            _What has happened to you Delita? You were once my brother's best friend but now you curse his name? What has happened to you? I am the demon, please tell me that you have not become one. I could not bear to think that both of the people that my brother most trusted in have betrayed him. But then… is that my punishment… to see my brother suffer like this? I can't… I won't…_

_            Alma broke out into a scream. Delita immediately jumped into hold her and wondered what she found so frightening… or more to the point where she got the energy to scream like she was._

            "Now you haunt her to Ramza! She means nothing to me! Stop this foolishness and return to the nether realm… you do not belong here anymore." Delita concluded as he carried Alma off. He looked back every once in a while to see if the apparition he feared was following him… it wasn't. As he got closer to the carriage Beowulf ran to him to check on both him and the girl.

            "My liege, I heard a scream… what happened?" He asked him.

            "Nothing, this girl thought she saw something. But it turned out to be nothing, just like her supposed friends. Come, let's get her into the carriage and get her out of this cold. She should get her wits back with a warm bath and some medical attention." Delita said placing her now unconscious form back into the seat of the carriage. All the while, Alma could nothing but think trapped thoughts of broken realities. It felt like centuries passed before she came to. However, she felt something different then snow. This sensation was still wet but now warm… it was now all over her body. How could she be feeling warmth?

            _What is this? It isn't the flames of hell… I have already been through those once and these are much more… more… relaxing. If I am to suffer why am I being pampered…_

_            She opened her eyes and noticed something very peculiar about her surroundings. No long was she in the dark, snow covered forest. She was now in a palatial estate. She sat up and looked around at her surroundings. The room she was in was bright with red and gold. On one wall was a mirror that took up the whole wall. On the wall facing her was a fancy four post bed with what appeared to be golden satin sheets and large fluffy white pillows. The wall to her right had a large gold and mahogany dresser lying up against it next to a door that was made of similar material. Behind her was a large tapestry of what looked to be the fifty-years war. The room was square with only one large cathedral window that was cover by satin curtains. Luckily for her because at that moment she realized that all this time she had been completely nude lying in a tub of warm water. She looked around for her clothes but could find none._

            _What am I doing here? This almost looks like home but…why would I be here? Who brought me here… and why am I naked! It doesn't look like they tried to hurt me… maybe I should just enjoy it._

            With this last thought Alma just leaned back as the water once again covered her breasts. She continued to look around but this time not really at anything. She was enjoying the feeling the water was giving her. For the first time in a long time she actually felt relaxed. She stopped looking around and closed her eyes once again. She just let the feeling of warmth overtake her and for the first time since she had come back to herself she felt like herself again. She finally remembered though what had brought her here in the first place and what she had to leave behind to get here. She shot up and was stand as the water cascaded down her body.

            _Oh my god, their still out there! I have to go back to them… I have to go find them now. I have to go save my brother I have to go save…_

_            "Ramza!" She said the last part of her thought aloud._

            "And just how would a bar maiden know the name of a heretic?" A voice came from in front of her. She opened her eyes and the dropped back into the tub spilling water out all over the plush red carpeting.

            "What the hell are you doing in here?" She asked mad and embarrassed at the same time. The man simply shook his head at her immodesty, after all, he was the one the disrobed her in the first place.

            "Please girl, I was the one who brought you here in the first place. Besides… you don't have anything I have seen before." The man said with a chuckle. It took her a few minutes but she finally realized who she was talking to.

            "Delita?" She asked still hiding below the tub line.

            "The same… and who might you be? I mean, you look almost exactly like a girl I once knew. She was an aristocrat… she had long blond hair like you but she kept in a ponytail." Delita said approaching her. Alma realized that with his words that her hair was out of its bonds. She noticed that Delita had continued to me closer to her.

            "What are you doing… stay back!" She screamed curling up even more trying to hide her nude form. Delita for his part just shook his head.

            "Look if you don't want me to closer I won't. But I do need to know who you are. You see, the girl that I spoke about… her funeral is in two days. So I have to wonder why you look her." Delita said returning to his place against the wall. Alma just looked at him… he had changed so much over the past four years. 

            _What has happened to you? You used to be… be… so much more lively. What has brought about this change in you? You were once my half brother, you like Ramza would have done anything to save me. But now… you almost look like you are ready to… ready to… why. What have you done, what has been done to you, why have you changed like this… are you even the Delita I once knew?_

_            Alma shook her head and thought about how to respond to his questions. She knew that whatever had happened to him that if she told him who she was that he would either have her killed or imprisoned for being insane. She decided that she would play to what he thought she was._

            "I am sorry for your loss sir. I hope that your grievin' hasn't been too hard on ya." She stated in the most country manner that she could manage. He took a long look at her and then smiled.

            "I guess it is just a coincidence that you look like her. I am sorry to have bothered you with such unimportant matters of state. However, I am still troubled by the fact that you call out the name of a known heretic." Delita turned away from her and frowned. Alma had to think quickly before her cover was blown.

            "I saw a poster about him… to think someone would stand against the word of St. Adjora. I hope the church caught him, he gave me nightmares." Alma said biting her tongue at the fact that she was supporting the church that had violated her.

            "Yes, I will send the maid in here with a new dress for you. I shall tell the stable master to take you into town. Zeltennia should hold a place for you to work." Delita said as he started to leave the room.

            "I thank ya' kindly sir. I hope I wasn't to much trouble to you Mr. …" She asked knowing full well who he was… or least who he used to be.

            "Did you hit your head dear girl? I am Delita… king of all Ivalice." He said turning back to her.

            _King! King! When did you become a King, this isn't what you wanted. You wanted to free people from tyranny. This is not what Teta would have wanted… this is not what you wanted. Why Delita… why?_

_            "I am sorry my liege… I must have been hurt worse then I thought to forget about my king." Alma said as she looked up at him. Delita simply turned away from the naked girl and walked out of the room. Alma meanwhile laid back down in the now half empty tub and stared at the ceiling._

            _He did recognize me… but he thinks that I am dead… it is just as we thought. We are dead to this world. But this doesn't explain why he hates Ramza. What did we ever do to you Delita… what has made you like this? It doesn't matter though… I guess it is something we deserve. Though we save the world we are left without one. I am not the demon but I was violated by one… and perhaps that is Alma Beoulve that will buried in two days._

_            She looked out at the top of the window at the early morning sun. It had been that long since she had been pulled from that forest. The problem was that the more she thought about it the faster she realized she had a problem._

            _I don't even know where that forest is… how am I gonna find them?_

_            Her thoughts were broken by this odd glow coming from the pack that was sitting on the small nightstand next to the bed. She got out of the tub and looked for something to wrap herself up in but found nothing. So she decided that it didn't really matter and walked over to the pack stark naked. She picked up the pack and realized that it was her pack._

            "They didn't open it? That means that the stone…" She said to herself as she opened the pack and sure enough Virgo was still inside. It was glowing faintly, almost as if it was try to tell her something. 

            _Does it know where they are… can it guide me…? …NO! This is a stone of evil or it used by an evil heart… why would it guide me to where I want to go?_

_            "Madam… you shouldn't have gotten out of the tub like that. We just got you warmed up again… do you want to catch your death of cold?" A maid stated entering the room. Alma stuff the stone back into pack and rolled behind the curtains of the bed in an attempt to hide her body from the newest peeping tom. However, after her surprise cleared she realized it was the maid that was there to dress her. She slowly got up off the bed still covering herself with the curtains of the bed._

            "Girl, you don't have anything I don't… what you got is just a little more perky and a lot less wrinkled then what I got." The maid said with a laugh as she noticed how timid Alma was being. Alma turned bright red at the maid's comments. 

            _Why am I being like this… Adjora ripped away my innocence. Why am I being as timid as a school girl? I was a schoolgirl too long ago. That was another lifetime… another person. I am no longer Alma Beoulve… she is going to be buried in two days… I have no name, it was stripped from me along with my old dress and my… my…_

_           "What are you so lost in thought for darlin? You are too young to be thinkin that much. Now that I got your attention, what's your name, who are you, and how old are you anyway?" The maid asked snapping Alma back to reality. Alma looked up at her and let the curtain fall. She didn't care anymore… _

            _I am not even human anymore. I may not have been the demon myself but I was perverted by it. I lost everything I was… I… she died that day._

_            "I am nineteen… I don't have a name and I am nothing." She answered standing up not caring about who saw her. _

            _This is divine justice. I should stand here stripped of everything… even my clothes. I have been party to a great evil and despite Orlandu's words, I am guilty, even if its not what I believed I was guilty of. I am guilty of a greater crime then betrayal… I am guilty of… of… existence._

_            Alma stood there… no saying a word but the maid thought she knew what was on the young woman's mind._

            "Hey now, don't you start thinking something like that. So a man took you by force against your will, so what. Are you going to let that destroy you? Or are you going to stand and say @#$% you! I am a woman… I am my own woman. I will dictate where my life goes and where it leads me. Its time for you to take back what was taken from you. Now you are never going to be same… you cannot be. But you are grown up now, I am only sorry that you had be grown up at nineteen. But the rest of your life is yours to do with as you please." The maid finished her speech and looked up at Alma who was looking right at her.

            _You mean there is life after what was done to me? How, how can I ever live with what I have done… but then… I am dead aren't I? I am a woman… my own woman._

_            "Alma… my name is Alma. I was correct when I said that I was nothing but at least now I think that I can be somebody. Thank you." She said taking the curtain and covering herself back up._

            "No need… if you want to thank me, become something great. Fight back and win against assholes like the one that hurt you. Anyway, let's get you dressed and on your way. We wouldn't want our illustrious king to get mad again would we?" The maid said as she handed Alma the slip that was the first of the things that she had brought for her.

            "What of Delita… what has happened to him since his sis… since the events of Fort Zeakdon?" She asked as she was pulling on an undershirt.

           "You mean that battle four years ago that started the War of Succession? I didn't know our king was involved in that. I know he is the hero of that war but I though he was only a bit player at that time." 

            _He hasn't told anyone has he… has he kept that inside all this time? No wonder he has changed… it has eaten away everything that was Delita and left this. I am sorry Teta… I failed you. There is nothing more I can do about it thought. My time as Alma Beoulve is over. I am not sure who I am… but I know I am me._

_            "I guess I just misread something… forget I asked." Alma said buttoning up the last bit of her new dress. It was still kind of regal, it was blue and white with silver trim and small bow time on the left shoulder. After getting her dressed the maid brought enough food to feed an army… or apparently just a really hungry Alma. After she was done eating Alma stood up and began to walk from the room when she realized that she had left her pack. The maid handed her the pack and looked up at her. Alma reached out to hug this servant that she did even know the name of. This worldly woman had restored hope back to the younger Alma and for that she would be forever thankful. The maid for her part returned the embrace with the same intensity._

            "What was that for Darlin?" The maid asked.

            "I don't even know your name and you have helped me so much. Thank you."

            "Well you're welcome… its been my pleasure darlin. My name is Beryl. If you ever need anythin just ask me k? Now you get going. I am sure there is someone waiting for you out there." Beryl said with a playful swat on to her back. Alma laughed and then headed out of the castle.

            _Someone waiting for me… I hope. I know I have done some heinous things but I hope that they will forgive me for it._

            Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar glow. She reached down into her pack and pulled out the Virgo stone. It seemed that it wanted to guide her somewhere. She looked down at it and felt the determination well up inside her.

            _Look stone, because I was turned into a demon. Now you are going to do my bidding. I am __Alma__…I am who I am. I do not need a last name. It is time that I start over. I will find a place where I can live again… I will find a place where I can do some good and maybe just maybe… begin to atone for what I have done._

Authors Note: Three down… god knows how many more to go. See you soon… hopefully


	4. To Rise from the Ashes

Author's Note: …I'M ALIVE! No really, I am. I just was debating whether or not FF.net was still worth my time after the happy little changes on 9/12/02. But I have returned and have decided that I may actually keep writing this damn thing. To answer a few questions, no I don't have an Alma fetish or something I just felt that her character needed a little bit more development then the rest… at least at this point. Hey, if you were possessed by something you had spent your entire life believing was the very angel of life but turned out to be the angel of death and it almost made you kill everyone you loved… would you be a little bit… I don't know… affected by it? This is not the last Alma centric chapter though. Come on, there going to her funeral in the next chapter. Next to last, any comments about the way I have change Alma's appearance may or may not be ignored depending on what they are. Finally, all the crap about I don't own the character, that they are actually own by a little man run by wires in some corner office in west Tokyo and that the government is out to get me… Can't Sleep, Clowns Will Eat Me. Kennedy was killed by that governor of Texas that was riding in front of him. The government is watching me… I will eat your first born if you steal my characters……. You know, all that stuff… enjoy.

            "Well, so we at least know Alma is alive and well… well sort of." Sarah said shaking her head at the thoughts of becoming a demon. She couldn't imagine what it was like, what it must have felt like, she just shivered.

            "Interesting enough. She seems to have set her own path, but I wonder what has become of the others?" Dr. Cortez asked. He looked over the next section of the scripture and saw that it was still in the same writing as the previous had been. He continued through the next few pages and finally came back to what appeared to Ramza's handwriting. Horatio had been watching him and stopped him just before he started reading what he had in his hands.

            "Simon, let the girl finish the passage she has. After all, who knows what Alma's adventures could lead to. Right now she is only one of the group still standing. We don't know if she just leaves them or not. Besides, she left the comfort of the castle because she was looking for them… not for work as was suggested to her." Horatio commented handing the scripture back to Sarah.

            "Besides listening to her is more entertaining then listing to either of you prattle on." Jonathon said under his breath. He was captivated by her. He had been a student of Dr. Cortez for almost five years now and he had yet to find someone who rivaled him in intelligence and determination… but here she was. And to find someone that was as beautiful as she… was this a dream? 

            "Are you ok Jonathon… you look like you are lost in dementia?" Sarah said with a chuckle.

            "Just waiting for you to continue…" He said with a smile… one which she returned. Horatio and Simon merely looked at each other and chuckled.

            "I think it's time we get back to the papers. Sarah, please continue." Simon stated breaking the mood.

            "Of course Doctor." She stated as she continued

……………………………………..

**Chapter 4: To Rise from the Ashes**

            "Miss, we're almost there." The stable master said. She looked out him and wondered if this man ever got any sleep. He was the same stable master that had come upon lying dead to the world in the snow and now, near the crack of dawn, here he was taking her Zeltennia. 

            "Are you alright madam?" He asked her. His comments just seem to go in one ear and out the other. He noticed this and wondered what she had on her mind. For her part she looked out at the stars… what little she could see with the approaching light of dawn. She shook her head and wondered what she was going to do next.

            _I have no idea where to begin. I need to do something, I need to find that place… I need to find them again. But, I don't know where… or how to begin again. What am I to do… where will I go? …I can't think like this, it would be the way that Alma Beoulve would have thought… she is dead and she is going to…!_

_            "Driver… where is the cemetery?" She asked suddenly. The driver startled by her sudden question almost lost the reigns but was able to get his bearings back. He looked back at the young blonde in his carriage and wondered why she would want to know that. _

            "It is there, near the cathedral at the end of town ma'am. But why would you ask for something like that all of a sudden?" He asked her. She herself was unsure just why she asked but she felt that she needed to go there. Then she thought about her true task…

            "Where did you find me?" She asked him. The stable master looked at her inquisitively but then shook his head and determined that this was no stranger then her last request.

            "In the forest to the south of the castle over yonder. You were near dead when I stumbled upon. Although I do remember you saying something about having friends there. I would take you back there but I strict orders to take you to the inn. The king has arranged a room for you. He wants you to find a job in town in the afternoon." He said to her as he passed through the gates to the city. She looked out over the forest.

            _I can still feel them there… Delita couldn't see them but I could. They should be safe. But still, I have to go find them… but first I have to…_

_            "Where is the nearest item shop?" She asked._

            "It is near the inn I am taking you to. He returned happy that she was asking normal questions again.

            _If they wake up they will probably be in the same shape as I was. I need to make sure that I have the resources to help them._

            "Here we are ma'am. Just tell the innkeeper who you are and he will show you to your room. I hope you have a good life." The stable master said hoping of the carriage and opening the door for her. She stepped out and looked over the inn. It was as one would expect in a city as important as Zeltennia. It was regal, it high columns at its entrance to greet its well to do clients. She would almost feel out of place if it wasn't for the clothes they had provided her. However, she would need something different now.

            _These are clothes befitting me now. Alma Beoulve would have worn fineries like this. I am but a simple bar maiden. I guess it is time I start dressing like one… but perhaps… I should get some sleep._

_            "Thank you driver, for everything. If it wasn't for you… I probably would have died out there." She said bowing her head to him._

            "No problem ma'am. I need to take the horses back to the stable. Pleasant evening." He said taking the reigns. As he turned the carriage and turned away Alma couldn't help but think that this was place that something new was going to start.

            _I don't think this will be the last stop on my journey… but it will be the first._

            She walked into the inn and was met by the innkeeper. He himself seemed to pretty well to do, one would expect no less from the money that he made. He looked over and almost through her… as if she wasn't even there.

            _You aren't the first to this you jerk and probably won't be the last. But I don't have the time for this I just need to sleep._

_            "You must be the wench the king was speaking of. Well your room is down the hall to your left. I am not a charity house, I expect you out of the room after noon today. Try not to make a mess… although I suspect that this is too much to ask for someone of your low class and morals." The innkeeper said turning his nose to her. She looked up at him and for some reason just didn't care. Before treatment like this would have brought her to tears but now…_

            _There it is again… that feeling of indifference. I just don't care about his words… is he right… am I of a low class or worse, morals? Have I truly lost that much of myself that these words have no meaning to me… or worse, ring true? …No, I won't except that I have lost that much of myself… myself. Listen to me, I sit here and talk about myself and yet I have no idea who or what that is. Although I do know it is not what this ass says it is._

            "Excuse me sir… but I would appreciate some respect from the likes of you." She said forcefully. He looked at her and laughed.

            "The likes of me… madam? I think you are mistaken. You see I am of the highest caliber class and quality… far better then you lowlife bar wench." He said with a laugh. She thought about his words again and then come up with an idea. She ran up to him, kneed him in his fat stomach. He dropped to the floor and she knelt down on his chest.

            "Gee… for someone so high and mighty, you look pretty low to me. I am going to my room now. I will be out your… establishment… by noon. Have a nice night." She stood and begun the long down the ornately decorated hall way. She felt exhilarated. Never in her life had she done something like that… it made her feel good, for the first time in a long time, it made her feel good. She stopped and turned back to him as he slowly picked himself up off the ground.

            "Next time, perhaps you had better watch you tongue… commoner." She said with a laugh of her and continued towards her.

            _Did I just do that… whatever possessed me to such a thing? In times past I would broken down and cried… maybe I have changed… maybe, I like this new me._

            She reached her room and smiled at the idea of she just had… perhaps she was starting to answer some the questions she had. But there were still more to answer… however those would have to wait till morning.

            _Tomorrow is a new day… let's see where this new me takes me._

            This was the last thought she had before she unceremoniously fell over onto bed and went right to sleep. 

            She awoke a few hours later to bustling sounds of the city. She sat up and covered her eyes as the sunlight shown through the window.

            _Sunlight… something I thought I would never see again… is this a sign of things to come?_

_            She cleared her mind and got out of bed. She grabbed the few things she had and decided that she would go off and look for the supplies she needed. She passed by the front desk where the innkeeper hid from her. She just laughed to herself as she left the inn and looked out over the busy town. She looked down at herself._

            _Well, it is time that I throw off the bonds of the old me and shine like the sun above me._

_            She looked out over the town and saw the places she needed to go. She didn't want to take to long though, the wind was cold and who know how long it would take her to hike back to they place where her friends were. She ran to the nearest clothing store and found the few things she was looking for but wondered how she was going to pay for all of the things she needed. She reached into her pack and to her surprise found both a few hundred gil and note_

Hey Girl

            Always remember to smile. Live your life to fullest and never let what happened to you get you down. Here is some seed money to get you start on a new path. Don't go back to the those seedy places… you like someone of royal blood and though it was spilled… it will always flow within you. You are different now, you are woman… but never forget the girl you are leaving behind.

                                                                                                With love and Hope

                                                                                                            Beryl

            _She… she shouldn't have… but she did. She didn't know me at all and yet she gives me a chance to regain something I lost. She's right though… I am different, but in some ways I am the same. I guess it just comes down to my choices now… I guess… it just comes down to who I make myself out to be. But I need to change something… my clothes yes, but something more._

_            In her thoughts the shopkeeper came up to her and tapped her on the shoulder snapping her back to reality._

            "Excuse me miss, is there anything I can do for you?" The shopkeeper inquired. Alma for her part just looked up and for the first time saw herself in the mirror.

            _That's it… if this world thinks that Alma Beoulve is dead then so be it. I need to change the outside to accommodate the new heart and soul within._

            "You most certainly can. I need supplies for a few night stay out in the woods and a whole new outfit for myself." She said looking around at the thing in the store.

            "Will you be purchasing those items in you arms miss?" The shopkeeper asked happily. Alma looked down at what she was carrying…

            _Dresses… that… that doesn't fit anymore.___

_            "No, here. Let me look around." She said handing back all the things she had in her hands back to the shopkeeper. She moved swiftly around the store looking for items that would suit the new her. What she came back with surprised the shopkeeper._

            "Milady, these items… a leather battle vest, leather travel pants, a white silk over shirt… leather boots… the items of a swordsman, not of a lady of fine up bringing such as yourself." The keep said setting the dresses aside. Alma looked at him inquisitively…

            _What makes you think I had a fine upbringing… just because I did? Is it that obvious… but then maybe there is something else. My clothes, my attitude, my…!_

            Alma looked around the store and found what she was looking for. She grabbed a long dagger by its hilt and looked back into the mirror.

            "Tell me, would a lady of 'fine upbringing' do this?" She said as she took the length of her hand into her hand with a draw of the dagger sent it to the floor. What was left reach to only to just above her shoulders. She looked up at the mirror again and smiled…

            _There I am… that is me… at least the me that here now. I will never forget the girl that had that hair but this the woman that was spawned from the ordeal that killed her. Yes, I lost my innocence that day but I gain something greater… what that is I am not sure yet… but at least I know… I have found what I look like._

            "No, I guess not. Will there be anything else other then the clothes and the supplies mila… ma'am?" The shopkeeper stated. Alma looked around and found the final piece to her puzzle.

            _Dad, you showed me how to use one of these long ago… I only hope that I can remember…_

_            It was thirty inches long from hilt to point. The pummel was a simple circle design with stripes going down through it. She picked it up and grabbed the clothes which she had picked out and ran to the dressing room. A few minutes later she emerged tying the scabbard at her side and the blade itself swung around in her hand._

            "I will be dammed… not only does the blade, but the entire outfit suits you ma'am." The shopkeeper said picking his jaw up off the floor. 

            "My father taught me how to use a sword like this year ago… I can only hope I remember his lessons." She said returning the sword to its scabbard.

            "I am sure that you will ma'am. By just what I have seen you skill is impressive."

            "How much for everything?" She asked riffling through her pouch to get her gil. The shopkeeper thought about it for a few moments and then realized something.

            "Keep your money. All I want is that dress you came in with. I can make a fortune selling something like." He returned.

            "It's yours, but double my order including my clothes here and tac on this dagger." She said picking up the_ dagger which she had used to remove her hair earlier._

            "Gladly, the profit I will make from a dress that fine will more then cover it." The shopkeeper said collecting the items she asked for. Alma in between a bright smile noticed that it was getting late.

            _Have I really been in here this long? I guess changing yourself takes time. Well at least I have the money to get something to eat now._

            The shopkeeper returned with a rather large pack of things and a small pouch.

            "What's this?" She asked

            "One hundred and fifty gil. That and the items you purchased should about cover the profits you gave me from the dress. You have made a very rich man ma'am… it's the least I can do." The shopkeeper said as he bid her a found farewell. She shook her head and decided it was for the best. Beside, her stomach was getting the better of her and to add to the already cold wind of the encroaching night snow had started to fall. She decided that a quick retreat to the nearest tavern was in order and did so. A few hours passed as she had her fill. It seems that this new person she was become had a taste for food of any sort.

            _So many things are different now. Before, I barely ate… now I eat enough to feed all three of my brothers… Dycedarg, Zalbag… I had forgotten about you. Both of you dead because of that damn battle… and I… and __Alma__ could do nothing about it. No longer… no longer will I hide form danger. I will face it in all of its forms. I will make sure that what happened to me not only doesn't happen to anyone else… but ever again._

            This last thought caused her to hit her gloved fist against the table. A few of the table looked at her funny and she decided that it was time to leave. She place about thirty gil on the table and got up. She looked around at the drunks and decided that this place wasn't half bad. She walked out into the cold. She pulled up her hood and looked up at the stars.

            _First I see the light of a sunrise and now I see the light of the stars… seemingly for the first time. Of course, I guess there have been a lot of first for me in the past day. But I guess that comes wi… !_

            "AHHHHHHH!" A voice screamed out into the cold winter night snapping Alma out of her thought. She ran to see where it was coming and came upon a scene that struck to close to home.

            "Let me go, let me go, somebody… HELP ME!" A girl screamed as she was being attack by three guys who obviously had plans for this bar maiden.

            "Stop screaming girl… there no one out there but the wolves, which if you lucky and real nice, I won't throw you to them." The apparent leader of the bunch told the girl as he ripped off the top of her dress reveal her breasts to the cold night. The other two men with him just stood around laughed.

            _Typical flunkies… let's hope that I remember my lessons…_

            "You know gentlemen… I don't think she's interested in you. Perhaps you should just move along." Alma stated walking up on to the scene. The three men just turned to look at the person that was breaking their privacy.

            "It's nothing but a little girl with a little sword." The one henchman to left stated with a chuckle. The leader of the group released his victim as she struggled to cover herself up more for protection from the cold then modesty.

            "Who are you… the wench's fairy godmother?" The leader stated drawing his sword. Alma just laughed.

            "I'll have you know I was trained by the best." She said drawing her sword.

            "Oh and who would that be?" The other hench asked.

            "Balbanes Beoulve." She said with a smirk. The three men just stopped dead in their tracks, even the girl stopped crying at the sound of the name.

            "She lying… Kill her!" The leader as the other two lunged at her. She drew her blade and the sounds of clashing steel could be heard ringing through the night. She seemed to hold her own though, however she got herself into a pincer. However, thinking quickly she elbowed the hench behind her and knocked him off balance. She then knocked the blade out of the others hand and ran him through. The one hench fell to the ground and his blood stained the snow red. She grabbed the other sword and rolled forward dodging the other blade that was about to fall. She quickly turned around and dispatched the other with a swipe from both her blade and the other hench's. However, what she hadn't noticed was that the leader had come up behind her. Her smacked her over the head with the pummel of his sword and she fell to her dropping both blades. The leader picked up her blade and took both blades to the sides of her head and stood there ready to deliver the deathblow. He got up into her face and began to gloat.

            "You know… you're not half bad. But I would have expect someone trained by Balbanes to have eyes in the back of their head like he did. Oh well… I guess its time for you to die." He said readying the blades.

            "You're right… I should have seen you back there. I guess I am getting a little rusty,' she stated between short breaths as she reached down to her belt, 'But there was something that Balbanes did teach me." She said looking him straight in the eye.

            "Oh and what is that?" He said with a smile. That smile quickly changed however, when she answered his question.

            "Never be caught in a situation where you don't have options." She said as she ran the leader through with the dagger she had bought. The blades fell from her should to snow below her. For his part the leader could only muster a short comeback between the blood he was spitting up.

            "You… bit…" He fell to the snow dead. Alma grabbed the back of her head and rubbed it as she reclaimed her fallen and now bloody blades. She walked over to the girl who had been lying in the snow watching her savior do her work. She checked over her and everything seemed ok but she decided to ask anyway.

            "Are you alright… well of course you're not alright, you just almost got raped. Are you hurt?" Alma asked.

            "I… I… I… ok…" The girl said barely able to look up at her. Alma looked over her closer.

            "You seem ok. But your gonna want to get those gashes on your breasts looked at." She said without the modesty that she would have had before all of this happened. The girl just looked past her almost into nothing and then without warning grabbed onto her.

            "Thank you so much… I don't know what I would've done if they…" The girl managed before she started sobbing again. Alma pulled out a blanket from her large pack and wrapped it around her. She managed to pry the grip of the girl off of her.

            "It's ok. Look, here's my word of advice. This is gonna change you… no matter how much you try to make it not. Don't forget what happened here tonight… but instead of weakening you… let it make you stronger. Take it from someone who's been there… but didn't have a warrior around to save her." Alma said picking up her packs. She looked back at the girl who had already gotten back on her feet, stumbling as they were.

            "Are you gonna be alright to get home?" She asked. The girl looked back at her.

            "Yes… my house isn't far. Thank you for what you have done… and what you said. I hope that I turn out like you." She said as she stumbled away.

            _You don't want to do that. But maybe one day you will gain the strength that I apparently have. I just hope you know where it comes… because I don't have the faintest idea._

            She shook her head clear of the thoughts and went on her way. She had the description that the driver gave her of the forest she was found and knew it was going to be a long trip, especially with the snow piling up. A few after she began she didn't feel like she was any closer. The sun could be seen coming up over the horizon… if the snow was blocking out all view beyond a few feet in front of her. 

            _I can't even find myself in the storm let alone them… what the hell am I supposed to do now. I think I have been walking in circles for past four hours. Wait… what is that._

_            She looked down at her side pack and saw that there was something glowing in it. She pulled at it found that it was the Virgo stone._

            _What do you want with me now you demonic thing?_

            Almost as if reading her thoughts the stone shot a beam of light into the storm… almost like a signal to something.

            _What, are you saying that they are in that direction? Why would you be help me now?_

            The stone didn't answer and she finally gave in. She had nothing else to do. She decided to follow the stone's light. A few hours later the light turned towards a small clearing near a road that lead towards the castle.

            _This has to be it… they're here… I can feel them here._

            She ran towards the clearing and a few yards past where she had been stand a flash of light hit her and the storm stopped. She looked around and it seemed like the storm was going on outside this protect bubble that she had somehow managed to get inside. She walked forward and saw the area where she had set up the shelter and fire a few nights before. She dropped the packs and ran towards the camp site with what little energy she had left. She expected to see her friends still lying in the snow… what she got was a gun shot to her feet. She stopped and drew her sword but it was immediately knocked from her hand by a far larger blade. That blade was then place at her throat. She put her hands up and tried to look at what was going on but her had been tilted skyward by the massive broadsword. 

            "Well, just who might you be?" A very familiar voice asked from the trees above her. The person that voice belonged too jumped from the trees and landed on his feet in the snow. She final realized that only one person could do that.

            "Mustadio what are you doing. Don't you recognize me? … Well of course you don't recognize me but…" She stated.

            "Mustadio… this wench knows your name… is there something I should know?" The person with the sword asked. Alma knew that voice right away and pushed the sword from her throat.

            "Meliadoul… you're awake." She stated happily.

            "She knows your name to Melia… I'm not even going there." Mustadio said with a laugh. All this time another figure had appeared behind three and could only stare in awe at the girl… woman, which the other two had stopped.

            "Meliadoul, Mustadio… stand down both of you." He stated as both put their weapons away. 

            "What's up Cid?" Mustadio asked.

            "Do you know this wench Master Orlandu?" Meliadoul asked less comically.

            "Yes… I do indeed. What has happened to you? How long have we been out for this much of a change to have taken place?" He asked as he looked Alma over.

            "I am unsure. I woke up three nights prior to this. I guess I have changed haven't I." Alma asked.

            "Mind telling me what's going on love?" Mustadio asked Meliadoul.

            "Your guess is as good as mine." She answered just as dumbfounded as he was.

            "Wait here… I'll get the other two… their out looking for… well, you." Orlandu said turning from them. Mustadio and Meliadoul just stood there as if they had both been hit by raging Zahgnol.

            "Al… ma? Is that you?" Mustadio asked.

            "Sort of." She responded.

            "My god girl… you have changed." Meliadoul said handing back her sword. Alma took it and placed it back at her side and looked up just in time to see both Agrias and Ramza with their respective jaws on the ground.

            "Hi." She said with a smile. Ramza just stood at what had become of his sister. Agrias was the first to speak.

            "I know we've been out for a while… but five year?" She asked only half jokingly.

            "From the nearest I can tell we were out here for about eight months before I woke up three nights ago." Alma answered.

            "How did we survive for eight months?" Orlandu asked. Alma reached into her side pack and pulled out her stone.

            "These." Was all she said as she throw the stone around in her a bit.

            "The stones kept us alive?" Meliadoul asked.

            "And apparently shielded from the outside world… which they are still doing I might add." Alma responded.

            "You have changed… but are you still my sister?" Ramza spoke for the first time. Alma thought about it for awhile.

            _Am I… am I still Alma Beoulve? I cannot be sure until… until… _

_            "There will be time for that later, right now we have to decide what to do next." Orlandu stated._

            "We can't stay here. The world thinks that Ramza is dead and the rest of you are nothing more the fugitives." Alma stated in return.

            "So where do we go?" Meliadoul asked.

            "We can decide that tomorrow afternoon. First we have something to attend to… or rather attend." Alma stated.

            "Oh, what is that?" Agrias asked.

            "My… her… Alma Beoulve's Funeral."

            _There… we both shall have our answer Ramza._


	5. Author's Note

Authors Note: Greetings all, I know I haven't update this in a while, but you see I was working on another project. My Website is now up and running. This story will now be update more often at my website light. I should have a new chapter up in a few days. You can also read a few of my other stories there as well. Simple go to the left frame and click on "Me as an Author" then "Fanfiction". There you will find my fanfiction stories. Any further comment can be sent to me via email at ChristopherGood172@hotmail.com. Enjoy.


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